Limitless Batman/Issue Two
walks into Wayne Manor, dusting himself off before turning on the light, revealing Alfred waiting for him in the dark, his hands behind his back. Alfred "Hello, Mister Wayne." stares at Alfred in confusion. Alfred "I've done some research, Mister Wayne, and I've discovered something rather odd. You told everyone you were in the army, but the record you have is only a few pages long. This is suspicious enough, but then I found this." pulls out the Batman mask. Alfred "So tell me Mister Wayne, why would an army man named a demon mask?" takes the mask. Bruce "It's a bat actually. Apparently, it's my spirit animal. Ironic considering as a child I was terrified of them." Alfred "Don't try to avoid the obvious questions this raises, Wayne." Bruce "...Fine..." a flashback, Bruce is seen in a soldier uniform running into battle with a small group of other soldiers. Bruce (narration) "I was in the army for a short amount of time. I made some good friends there. Guss, Tommy, Marvin, we were all the best of friends. We were sent to take down a general who had created a mutated form of the flesh-eating virus that could be spread rapidly. He was blackmailing all of America, claiming he'd unleash the virus on to them if they didn't surrender." accidentally steps on a mine and it blows up on him. Bruce "Tommy!" runs over to Bruce. Guss "Bruce, what happened!?" Bruce "We lost Tommy! trust me when I say though, he's not going to die in vain, Guss!" Marvin "Get down!" tackles both Bruce and Guss as bullets fly over their heads. Marvin "Half the group is dead! we need to retreat!" Bruce "Everything's fine Marvin! no matter what happens we will make it!" notices an enemy soldier aiming a gun at them and uses his own gun to blow him away before getting up and running, the other two following after him. Once they are away from enemy fire, they duck behind a corner and catch their breaths. Bruce calms down a bit but is instantly punched by Marvin. Marvin "In what world is not retreating a good idea in this situation!? there are only five people left, maybe even less now!" Bruce "If we retreat then he gets away with it!" and Marvin notice Guss breaking down in tears. Bruce "...Guss?" Guss "I just want to go home! the only reason I joined the army is that I thought it'd look good on a job application! I didn't think it through, I didn't consider that this could happen!" Marvin "...Listen, Guss, I--" he can finish his sentence, Marvin is shot as a small group of enemy soldiers point guns at Guss and Bruce. The next thing they know, they're being taken to the general. General "Ah, my American friends, how nice to see you!" Bruce "I'm not your friend." General "That's fine. It's beside the point." soldier injects Guss with something. General "You see, I want to show the Americans what will happen to them once I let my virus loose on them. And I thought you too would be the perfect example." Guss "Heh." Bruce and the General look to Guss. Guss "So I'm dying now. You know, my mom and dad died before I joined the army. I didn't have any friends while growing up, and the friends I did make are now lying dead on the battlefield out there. So thanks." General "...For what?" gets up and reveals a grenade. Guss "For giving me a reason." pulls the pin and drops it to his feet, blowing up the area and killing himself. Bruce wakes up a short time later and looks around, seeing the destroyed room around him and noticing a massive hole that has been blown in the wall. He looks out it and sees the injured general attempting to escape on a boat. Filled with rage, Bruce jumps out of the hole, managing to land in the ocean below before swimming after him. He manages to catch up with the boat, crawling up it and revealing himself to the general, who begins panicking at the sight of him. Bruce "You know, throughout this war, I've fired a lot of guns and killed a lot of people. But after today, I've come to a realization. I don't want to do it anymore. pulls out a handgun. Bruce "Pat yourself on the back. You're the final person I'll ever kill." fires a bullet that hits a metal box attached to the boat. As soon as he does, the boat blows up. Shortly after this, Bruce is seen putting on gloves in the present day. Alfred "Well, it's obvious that you survived that explosion but that doesn't answer all of my questions." Bruce "I know. That's because the story's not over yet. Sit back and relax. This is going to be a long one."